My Life in an Interracial Marriage and Family ~ It's been 25 years of fun; learning, growing, laughing & crying with each other. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Honoring MLK...

Today we honor him....

January 15th, is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s actual birthday. Every year on his birthday I watch pieces of his I Have a Dream speech. Each time I see it I am thrilled at how far we have come, yet, at the same time, amazed at how far we still have to go.

In his speech he said, "I have a dream ... that little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as brothers and sisters, I have a dream today!"

Those words touch me in so many ways. As a white woman married to a black man in the present day, it takes me back to the fact that Jamie and I were illegal (in many states) when he gave his now famous speech. Because of MLK, the Lovings, Rosa Parks, and so many more -- I am able to live freely and happily with my beautiful family. We are not only holding hands, we are married! His dream and more!

How does one even begin to thank people who have paved the way? The answer to that question is ... keep paving until it's no longer necessary. It's time for ALL of us to not only continue the change, but to be the change! For good. Forever. That is how we honor MLK and all the others who sacrificed so much for so many. Not just today but every day.

"Happy birthday" ... to the man, the father, the pioneer, the peacemaker.

8 comments:

"Every year on his birthday I watch pieces of his I Have a Dream speech. Each time I see it I am thrilled at how far we have come, yet, at the same time, amazed at how far we still have to go"

Give me a break!! How nauseating...

Michael King, Jr.--his real name--was a plagiarist, a communist, an adulterer, a bisexual, whoremonger and rabble rouser. Many large cities burned, White folks attacked, beaten and killed in the aftermath of his appearances. The fact that this scumbag has a national holiday is a travesty.

"Born in 1929, King was the son of a Black preacher known at the time only as "Daddy King." "Daddy King" named his son Michael. In 1935, "Daddy King" had an inspiration to name himself after the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. He declared to his congregation that henceforth they were to refer to him as "Martin Luther King" and to his son as "Martin Luther King, Jr." None of this name changing was ever legalized in court. "Daddy" King's son's real name is to this day Michael King"

and

"King's doctoral dissertation, "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Harry Nelson Wieman," for which he was awarded a PhD in theology, contains more than fifty complete sentences plagiarized from the PhD dissertation of Dr. Jack Boozer, "The Place of Reason in Paul Tillich's Concept of God."

and

"On Labor Day, 1957, a special meeting was attended by Martin Luther King and four others at a strange institution called the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. The Highlander Folk School was a Communist front, having been founded by Myles Horton (Communist Party organizer for Tennessee) and Don West (Communist Party organizer for North Carolina). The leaders of this meeting with King were the aforementioned Horton and West, along with Abner Berry and James Dumbrowski, all open and acknowledged members of the Communist Party, USA. The agenda of the meeting was a plan to tour the Southern states to initiate demonstrations and riots."

and

"According to Assistant Director Sullivan, who had direct access to the surveillance files on King which are denied the American people, King had embezzled or misapplied substantial amounts of money contributed to the "civil rights" movement. King used SCLC funds to pay for liquor, and numerous prostitutes both Black and White, who were brought to his hotel rooms, often two at a time, for drunken sex parties which sometimes lasted for several days. These types of activities were the norm for King's speaking and organizing tours."

and

"On Jan. 31, 1977 Coretta Scott King obtained a federal court order sealing for 50 years 845 pages of FBI records about her husband, "because its release would destroy his reputation!"

Really anonymous? White folks attacked? Really? Did you forget about the era of slavery in the United States? Have you forgotten about the KKK? MLK was a wonderful peaceful person. I am a white woman married to a white man and I think you're disgusting.

I wrote this post a year ago and at the time didn't respond to the comments above. Today, however, I will. To anyone who holds hate in their heart because of someone's skin color...my heart breaks for you. The negativity you carry based on no knowledge of anything about the person you "hate," with the exception of their skin color, is just sad. If you would only open your heart to everyone around you and get to know someone for who they are on the inside, you might be very surprised. There are white people, black people, and all other types of people who are good and who are bad. Skin color has nothing to do with anything. Choices do. Name calling and hatred don't hurt me, they hurt you as your stress levels rise from carrying such negativity. I pray you find some peace within yourself and open your heart and mind to all those around you. Get to know someone, then choose whether or not to like them. Ignorance is not bliss...it is lack of knowledge. In the end, love trumps hate...every, single, time. So today, in honor of how MLK would have responded to you...I pray for your happiness, and I pray you find some peace.

Amy I guess you do enjoy living in ignorance as you are ignorant to the truths about MLK. Read about MLK and learn the truth about him and maybe then you'll view him for who he actually was instead of living through rose-colored glasses...

I'm not sure why you continue to come to my blog if you don't believe in what I am writing about or how I live. My entire life is based on love and the acceptance of all people. If you feel my opinions, writings, and beliefs are wrong then maybe it's time to agree to disagree and call it a day. It's one thing to have a difference of opinion, it's an entirely different thing to hate based on an opinion. There is no room for hate in this world. I wish you well. I wish you peace. I wish you love. I really do. ~Amy